Delhi riots: HC grants time to leaders to respond to pleas to implead them

new delhi: The Delhi HC on Monday granted time to several political leaders and others to file their responses to pleas to make them parties to proceedings seeking FIR and investigation against them for allegedly delivering hate speeches leading to the February 2020 riots here. A bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul, while hearing a batch of petitions concerning the riots in north-east Delhi, noted that while lawyers were present in court on behalf of some of the political leaders and public figures, others remained unrepresented, and directed that the proposed respondents be given copies of the paper book in the case along with other relevant material."The proposed respondents are at liberty to file a reply to the application within two weeks," said the bench also comprising Justice Gaurang Kanth. Earlier this year, the court had issued notices to several politicians, including Anurag Thakur (BJP), Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and others, on two applications in the matter.

One impleadment application was filed by petitioner Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq who has sought FIR for hate speech against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma.

The other application was by petitioner Lawyers Voice which has sought the registration of hate speech FIRs against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as well as Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, former AIMIM MLA Warris Pathan, Mehmood Pracha, Harsh Mander, Mufti Mohammad Ismail, Swara Bhasker, Umar Khalid, BG Kolse Patil — former Bombay HC Judge and others.